


Possessed

by Prince_Darkcloud



Category: One Piece
Genre: Abusive Relationship, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Bottom Zoro, Jealousy, M/M, Prince!Sanji, Servant!Zoro, Slow Burn, Uke Zoro
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-05-18
Updated: 2017-06-17
Packaged: 2017-11-05 14:45:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/407624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prince_Darkcloud/pseuds/Prince_Darkcloud
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sanji is a young prince who's had everything he's ever desired presented to him on a silver platter. Zoro is his faithful servant that was assigned to him when they were small. Having known no other affection than that of his best friend, Sanji falls in love with Zoro. However, Zoro isn't so easy to return his affections, and he rejects Sanji, time and time again, falling for a local peasant instead. But Sanji is one who has never taken no for an answer, and his jealousy and desire to posses Zoro pushes him to the extreme.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Dog and His Master

**Author's Note:**

> I thought of this whilst in the shower, and I'm still not too sure why...

Golden sand stretched for miles across vast deserts, heat escaping the arid landscape in waves. The sun was large and red on the horizon as it slowly sank behind the dunes. As we pan across this barren landscape, we come across the outskirts of a large kingdom, one seemingly built out in the middle of nowhere. Tiny, dilapidated huts stretched on for a distance until little, slightly better built huts took their place. The buildings grew in size and splendor as they grew closer and closer to the center of the city, whereupon a hill sat a large, white, stone castle that had been embellished with royal designs, the royal silvers, golds, and reds were liberally used to decorate the monstrous palace. As we continue to zoom in on this splendid exhibition of architecture, there is one window in particular that stands out from the rest. Curtains made of layers of brightly colored, semi-sheer fabrics were gently swaying in the hot, summer breeze. Their splendid streams of color outlined the gaping hole of a window. Cradling the decorated window from below was a large balcony, the floor of it covered with pristine, white marble. It had witnessed many an important address to the poor civilians that naively ate up the words of their aging king, the current bearer of the crown.

Today, the young prince was turning 13, which meant that a celebration was to be had throughout the kingdom. Gifts were paraded through the city and brought into the royal hall, where they were placed on one side of the grand room after having been presented to the young prince. Standing at the prince’s side was his ever-faithful servant: a boy about his age that had been assigned to him as a playmate and companion when they were both quite young. Now that they were both 13, the playmate was no longer a friend, but an official member of the prince’s personal staff. He stood beside the throne, as the prince had demanded, but he did not speak nor look at him, which was pissing the young man off substantially.

“Why aren’t you paying any attention to me?” The prince demanded haughtily, folding his arms across his chest, his jewelry clanking as he moved. “It’s my birthday! You’re supposed to pay attention to me!” He didn’t care that he sounded childish. When he wanted something, he got it, damn it.

“Forgive me, Your Highness, but for my humble eyes to look upon your splendor in the royal hall on such an important day would be much too disrespectful. I know my place, and that is as your personal servant.” The boy raised his head ever so slightly. “A gift is being presented, Your Highness, please accept it in good grace.”

“I know, I know, jeez, you’re so boring, Zoro.” The prince waved off the civilian, having long since lost interest in the things the people presented to him. “Why can’t you be like you were when we were kids.”

“We are no longer children anymore. We’re adults now, we must start acting like it.” Zoro let a small sigh escape from his lips. He leaned over and whispered into the prince’s ear “If you’d like, we can sneak out again after the feast. He straightened up and tilted his head back towards the floor respectfully when, suddenly, the prince was in his face, grin spreading wide.

"Really? Where are you going to take me this time?"

"San-ji," Zoro glared at the prince, "we're in the middle of your birthday celebration. Please return to your throne."

"Che, this is so boring." But Sanji did as he was told, sitting sideways in his high throne, feet dangling over the side.

"Sit properly." Zoro scolded.

"You know, you’ve completely stopped being any fun whatsoever. I may as well have one of those boring old men standing next to me."

Zoro looked over at the prince, an indifferent expression on his face. "I wasn't assigned to you for the sake of fun. It’s my duty to be by your side and keep your ass in line."

"You! Talking like that to me! How dare you! You're the one who—" Sanji caught himself before he could finish. He didn't care about anyone else, but he didn't like playing up the pompous ruler role around his friend. With Zoro it was different from all the others. He didn't think of the green haired boy as a servant, but his one and only friend, despite the fact that their friendship was a tad cantankerous. "Hmph." Sanji turned back to face yet another gift bearer. He simply couldn't wait for this to be over with.

Once the presentation of gifts was completed, the young prince was required to give a speech, his first official address to his people. Zoro stood somewhat behind the curtains that lead to the grand, marble balcony, watching the prince with a frown. He hated this; his hair was of a light enough shade for him to be a member of the official court, not that he'd ever want anything to do with politics, but when he and Sanji were small, they used to talk about running away and living on their own where the color of one’s hair mattered not in deciding where everyone belonged within the hierarchy. Granted, they'd been too young to understand the consequences if they'd done such a thing, but Zoro truly longed for a life he deemed worth living. He had his own dreams, his own goals, but he would forever remain beside the prince. Even if they had a good relationship, well most of the time, his life would be one of astounding solitude. The prince would forever be at the top of his priorities, not because of their bond, but because it was what people of his class did. Abandoning the prince would be looked upon as treason of the highest order. Besides, he didn't want to leave Sanji to suffer alone.

Sanji finished his speech and walked back inside, looking incredibly regal and prominent, but the second his guards closed the curtains he let his body go lax again. “Maaaan, this sucks. Do I really have to do this until I’m as old as the geezer?”

Zoro couldn’t respond as he normally would with the guards right there. He bowed slightly as he spoke, “Your speech was magnificent, Your Highness. The delivery was perfect.”

Sanji frowned, about to say something when he realized the guards were still there. “Go on, get out of here. Your presence here is unwanted.” The guards didn’t move from where they stood by he door. “GO ALREADY! Or do you dare disobey your future king!” The guards stood a moment before they bowed and left, not uttering a sound. “Che, how annoying.”

“They’re just doing their job.” Zoro dropped his respectful posture and folded his arms. “Well, your birthday banquet is in about a half hour. What do you wanna do until then?”

“Let’s go to the gardens.” Sanji grabbed Zoro’s shoulders, “Come on! I want to try and find that passage way that guard told us about.”

“You’re wearing your good robes, you moron. Plus you’re wearing all that jewelry and your ceremonial headpiece. You’ll be a total mess by the time you get back, and then it’ll be my ass that’ll be grass. Besides, we wouldn’t have enough time to go all the way down there, explore, and come back.”

“I can always take them off.” Sanji reached up and began to unfasten the complicated clasps that held up the intricate necklaces around the pale neck, ignoring the idea of not having enough time. If he wanted to go, he’d go. Everyone else would just have to wait.

“Hey, I spent a good hour getting you ready. I’m not putting those back together again.” Zoro huffed, “I’m not your damned wet nurse, get a maid or something to get you ready. Why do you always make me do it, of all people?”

Sanji flushed a light shade of red, turning away with a frown on his face. “Cause you’re my personal assistant. You’re the only one I trust with getting me dressed.” It was a shitty excuse, but it was the best he could come up with.

“Che, whatever.” Zoro looked at the back of Sanji’s neck as he turned away. “Dammit, your stupid-huge necklace is coming undone.” He walked up behind Sanji as he began to work on the complicated clasps. “If I had a coin for every time you gave me a headache your family would be broke before your 18th birthday.”

“Shut up, and fix my necklace, you dumb plant.” Sanji grumbled as the heat slowly crawled up his face. The feeling of Zoro’s warm fingers against the back of his neck was enough to get the young man hot under the collar. It was also why he liked to have Zoro dress him every day, for the physical aspect of it all. Having Zoro touch his body as he adjusted his robes, the care and focus he had while fastening everything, feeling his hands smooth out any wrinkled. He loved it most when Zoro put on his royal veil and the headpiece. How Zoro would stare up at him as he placed the royal red veil over his head before placing the golden headpiece over it. He would always stare into Zoro’s eyes as the slightly older boy got him ready. He was brought out of his musings when he felt the absence of warmth from Zoro’s hands. “There, fixed.” Zoro pulled away.

“No, now you’ve got to fix my headpiece.”

“Whaaat? Why? It looks fine.”

“No, I think the veil’s folded funny under it.”

“Then fix it yourself.” Zoro huffed, “I have to go back to my room.”

“W-Wait, aren’t you going to the banquet?”

“I’m not allowed. It’s for your family only. It’s a private event, and I’m just a servant, remember?”

Sanji’s brow furrowed as he frowned, “But, but you’re high up enough in the caste system, you could be allowed to...plus, your father is of the most elite! I’m sure you can—”

“It doesn’t matter if he is an elite, it only would matter if I was. Besides, if I was an elite I wouldn’t be your servant.” Zoro sighed, “Just go and enjoy your banquet with your family. I’ll meet you as soon as it gets dark, alright?” He smiled a bit, turning to leave.

Sanji’s frown went from upset to angry. He grabbed the back of Zoro’s tunic, “If I want you there, you’re going to be there.” He affirmed.

“It’s not my place!”

“I don’t care!”

“Do you understand how much trouble I’d get into for such “impudent behavior”? The chief of staff would probably have me beaten for even thinking of it.”

“If I say you’re going, you’re going.” Sanji grabbed Zoro’s wrist and started pulling him.

“You’re so damned spoiled, you know that?” Zoro muttered as he was pulled. “Hey, wait! I don’t have a veil on, Sanji! Let go!” He had to be quiet as soon as Sanji pushed through the doors. He bowed his head in shame as Sanji dragged him away, even if he didn’t feel any shame, only annoyance, but he didn’t want anyone to think he was being disrespectful of the royal brat.

Sanji waited outside of Zoro’s door, tapping his foot  and pacing impatiently as he waited. Zoro soon emerged from his tiny room wearing a clean, white tunic with an orange sash tied around his waist, symbolizing his position. He had his veil over his head, a thin cord of silver wrapping around his head, holding it in place. He had never worn his formal tunic before, and he wasn’t quite sure he’d put it on right. Sanji smiled at him as he emerged. “Now it’s my turn.” He went over to Zoro and pulled the top half of the tunic off Zoro’s shoulder, revealing the smooth upper body that was rippled with the faint outlines of developing muscles. Delicious, in Sanji’s young, perverted mind.

“Wh-What are you doing!” Zoro pulled back, starting to pull the tunic back on.

“Fixing it. That orange sash goes underneath diagonally, and the ends hang beneath this slit.” He pulled the tunic apart where it split on the side, admiring Zoro’s bare upper thigh and hip for a moment before Zoro pulled away.

“Okay, okay, I got it I got it.” Zoro fixed his tunic the way that Sanji advised. “There, that better?”

Sanji smiled, “One more thing...” He reached up and fixed Zoro’s headpiece, even though it really didn’t need fixing. He just wanted to be in close proximity with Zoro. “There. Perfect.”

“You didn’t do anything.”

“Did too! Shut up! Let’s go to that shitty banquet.” Sanji stood up straight and walked off, Zoro following a few steps behind.

Sanji was seated at one end of the table, his father at the other with his mother sitting kitty-corner to her husband. Zoro stood back and to the right of Sanji, face burning in embarrassment as the king stared him down, clearly displeased with his presence. Sanji had insisted upon his being there, and disobeying his master was punishable, but he still felt like he was being intrusive.

Sanji was completely displeased with the whole thing. He’d thought that having Zoro there would make things more interesting, but every time Sanji had tried to talk to him, he would acknowledge that Sanji spoke, but he wouldn’t utter a word, and it was pissing the prince off. He picked up a piece of meat and took a bite out of it. It was simply delicious, the way it melted in his mouth was to die for. He wanted Zoro to try this.

“Zoro, try this.” He held it out for Zoro to take, and was confused by the horrified look on his servant’s face. “I’m commanding you to eat.”

“Y—Your highness, if would me most disrespectful of me to do such a thing.” He glanced up at the king and queen, quickly diverting his eyes from their inquisitive stare. They didn’t seem angry, as they weren’t really those kinds of people, though they did demand the utmost respect.

“I don’t care. I want you to eat it.” The more he insisted, the more awkward Zoro felt. A sly grin broke out on Sanji’s face. “I know. Let’s play that game we used to play when we were young.” Zoro’s brow furrowed, not understanding. Sanji pulled off a piece of meat and held it between his two fingers, grin growing broader as Zoro’s eyes widened.

”Sanji, please don’t...” He whispered below his breath so the king and queen couldn’t hear.

“Zoro, sit.” He demanded. He ignored his parents and their obvious discomfort. Zoro didn’t move for a moment, so he demanded again. “Zoro, I said sit.” He watched as Zoro looked down, slowly crouching down until he was sitting on the floor like a dog.

“Good boy, come.” Zoro leaned forward and slowly crawled over to the side of Sanji’s chair. “Goood. Now, beg.”

“Sanji, I believe this has gone on long enough.” The King said, gently taking his wife’s hand as he glared down at his son.

“It’s my birthday, is it not? I can do whatever I please.” Sanji challenged, barely glancing at his father before looking back down at Zoro. “Zoro, beg.”

“Sanji, this is demeaning. We’re grown men. You’re making your parents uncomfortable, and...you’re humiliating me.” Zoro said quietly as he sat before Sanji. “Please stop...”

“If you want me to stop then beg.” Sanji held the piece of meat over Zoro, watching with delight as Zoro sat back, bringing his balled up fists to his chests. “Good boy. Speak.”

“....arf...” Zoro said in a quiet, broken voice.

Sanji held the piece of meat out to Zoro who took it between his teeth, chewing and swallowing, but not getting up from the floor. He had never been so humiliated in his entire life, and the worst part was, was that the meat had been absolutely delicious, and he’d let out a little whine as he chewed. Sanji smiled and reached down, gently patting his head. “Good dog.”


	2. Less Than or Equal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shit son haven't updated this in forever. my bad yo

Once dinner was over, Sanji left with a smile on his face. He’d actually wound up having a pretty good time. Zoro trailed behind him, having not smiled once since the incident. “Hooo~ that was a good meal. I’m stuffed!” He looked back at Zoro. “You enjoy your meal too, little doggy?” Sanji had continued feeding him scraps under the table all night like some sort of pet, and whilst he had enjoyed it, Zoro had sat in silent misery.

Zoro didn’t say anything as he followed behind Sanji. He’d been shamed in front of the King, the Queen, and the royal guards. He just wanted to go back to his tiny bedroom and sleep. As soon as Sanji got to his room, he bid him a grumbled goodnight and turned to leave. He was stopped when he felt Sanji tug on the back of his tunic again.

“Your Hi—!”

“If we’re gonna sneak out, I want you in here with me.” Sanji demanded, tugging a bit harder. “Besides, you still have to give me my bath.”

Zoro sighed, not really having any energy to fight against it. “Yes, Your Highness.” He turned around and followed Sanji back into his room. He closed the door behind him as Sanji yanked off his ceremonial headpiece, throwing it onto the floor and flopping back on his humongous bed.

Zoro picked up the headpiece and made sure the golden chains and discs weren’t tangled or broken and placed it on the mannequin head inside Sanji’s extensive closet, grabbing a towel before he left. When he came back out, Sanji had already shed his formal robes and was waiting by the bathroom door as he waited for Zoro to being him his towel.

“Come on! I want to hurry up and get my bath over with.” Sanji whined and grabbed the towel from Zoro’s hands and wrapped it around his naked lower half.

“Why would you want to take a bath when you’re only going to get dirty again?” Zoro asked as they headed towards the bath, getting swaddled by steam when he pulled the lever to start the flow of hot water.

“You moron,” Sanji scolded as he sat on the edge of the pool-like, marble bath, “if we were to go to bed without bathing, it would be a break from our usual routine, and it’d seem very suspicious. Besides, we’d probably get a scolding from Robin for not being cleanly.”

“Che, she’s just your nurse—”

“And our teacher. Don’t insult her intelligence.”

“She’s just about as low in the caste as one can get; her hair is dark as night. You usually hold the order in such high esteem, I’m surprised to hear you defending her.”

“Well, her mother’s an elite, so she’s special. Plus she’s gorgeous~” Sanji huffed, “Aren’t you done drawing my bath yet?”

“It’s ready, Sanji.” Zoro pulled the lever to stop the flow of heated water. He turned around just as Sanji was jumping into the ocean of warm water amidst the islands of bubbles. “Hey! You have to wash before you soak! You’ll just dirty the water!” Zoro scolded as he reached for the bucket filled with soapy water.

“I don’t care!” Sanji shouted as he dipped beneath the surface, enjoying the warmth.

Zoro just sighed and sat down, shedding his robe and placing it on the stone bench off to the side, sitting down on a short, stone bench just outside the tub and beginning to wash himself.

Sanji quietly resurfaced, just the upper half of his face showing above the water. He was watching with a fixed gaze as Zoro ran the washcloth over his body. He could feel a stirring in his groin the longer he watched.

Feeling eyes on him, Zoro turned and came face to face with Sanji. “Do you need something?”

Sanji could feel himself turning red and slowly sunk into the bath. “No, idiot. Hurry up and finish so you can wash me.” Sanji huffed before rolling over onto his back and floating around idly, waiting for Zoro to finish and join him in the bath.

After his bath, Zoro dried the prince off before dressing him in his night clothes.

Sanji stretched and flopped onto his bed with a happy little smile. When he looked up he saw Zoro heading for the door. “Hey, what are you doing? Come here.” Sanji slid beneath his sheets, sitting up against the countless down pillows.

“No.”

Sanji looked taken aback for a moment. Anyone else in his kingdom wouldn’t dare tell the prince ‘no’ with the exception of his parents and maybe a nanny or two when he’d gone somewhere he wasn’t allowed to as a small child, but Zoro was the only one who would ever deny him anything, not that he could deny him for very long.

“Zoro, I said, come here!” He insisted hitting the bed with his open palm for emphasis.

“I’m not your dog, Sanji.” Zoro folded his arms and turned away, a frown creasing his forehead.

Sanji huffed, lips pursed and brows furrowed with his displeasure. “Then we’ll play the dog and master game.”

“Sanji—”

“You’ll get in trouble if you disobey me, right?” Sanji smirked, “Now come, but like a dog.” Zoro frowned, but he obeyed. He got down and crawled over to Sanji’s bedside, sitting as a dog would. “What’s the matter? This used to be so much fun when we were little.” He patted the bed. “Hop up!”

“We’re not little anymore.” Zoro grumbled as he hopped up onto the bed, curling up beside Sanji.

“We’re 13. I won’t take the crown until I’m 18. That means, I’m still a boy, and because we’re the same age, so are you.” Sanji smirked, “But I _am_ old enough to start building my harem~”

“Good for you. Can I get up now?” Zoro looked completely unfazed, much to Sanji’s disappointment. Why didn’t he get even the slightest bit jealous? Sanji couldn’t fathom why Zoro wouldn’t be upset with the idea that someone else would be taking up Sanji’s attention. He felt his irritation grow.

“No, you’re going to be my pet until we leave.” Sanji pouted, reaching back and grabbing one of the smaller pillows, throwing it to the other side of the room. “Now, fetch.”

Zoro sighed, but he turned around and crawled after the pillow, picking it up between his teeth and bringing it back to Sanji, putting his hands up on the bed as he dropped the pillow at Sanji’s side.

“Good boy, now lick you master’s hand.” Sanji held out his hand, trying to keep his face stoic as his heart started to race.

Zoro pulled a face, not used to that sort of command. He looked up at Sanji with a bit of doubt in his eyes, but Sanji’s hand didn’t move. He leaned forward and ran his tongue over the back of Sanji’s hand for just a second.

“Keep licking until I tell you otherwise.” Sanji demanded.

Zoro was confused, but he didn’t argue; there really wasn’t any point in resisting when it would spell nothing but trouble for himself. He brought his mouth to Sanji’s hand and began to lick it again, keeping his eyes trained on Sanji’s pale skin so he wouldn’t have to look into the prince’s face.

Sanji watched with incredible fascination, feeling his heart pound and his groin tingle with slight arousal. “G-Good boy...” Zoro kept licking, as he’d been instructed, only stopping when Sanji asked, “Are we leaving soon?”

He looked up at the prince, “We can leave now if you want. It’s only just gotten dark, but we can still leave.”

"Then let's go already!" Sanji smiled, getting up off his bed. "Zoro, go find our peasant clothes!"

Zoro got up off the floor and turned, heading towards Sanji's extensive walk in wardrobe. Once the servant was out of sight, Sanji brought his hand to his own mouth, kissing the wet spot Zoro had left before licking it himself. The indirect kiss only helped to flush his loins.

Zoro went to the back of the closet and opened an inconspicuous chest and pulled up the false bottom, grabbing the tattered robes that lay at the bottom along with their veils and the ropes to hold them in place. Most of the villager, the thieves aside, didn't wear head garbs, but since their hair was of such a light shade, it would be a dead giveaway that they were royalty. When he came back out, he saw Sanji fiddling with a knapsack.

"What's that for?"

"Ah! Erm, its a secret. You'll see it later." Sanji closed the bag stood with his arms out, preparing for Zoro to begin dressing him.

"You've never had secrets from me before." Zoro remarked as he began to dress Sanji in his commoner robes.

"Yeah, well, this time it's different." Sanji couldn't help the giddy smile that started to spread across his face.

Zoro noticed the smile, but he didn't say anything about it. He finished dressing Sanji before getting himself ready. He strapped his trusty sword in the belt of his robes, having learned early on to never leave without it. "Alright, it's dark, let's be off." He picked up the bag, having anticipated Sanji's not wanting to have to carry it himself.

The pair skillfully snuck out of the palace, almost getting caught on several occasions because of the noise the mysterious item in the sack kept making. Once they were home free, Zoro took a moment to scold the prince. "Dammit, Sanji did you have to bring this thing? It makes a shit ton of noise; we barely escaped 'cause of it!"

"Shut up, baka Marimo! You'll thank me for it later!"

"Since when have you been able to plan ahead?"

Sanji gave him an incredulous look. "I may be a tad spoiled, but you often seem to forget the fact that I'm substantially smarter than you. Plus I don't get lost half as easy as you do."

"Y-You...!" Zoro couldn't think of a proper retort and simply stalked off. "...F-Follow me...dammit..."

Sanji sighed, smiling a bit before he started to follow after his favorite servant and best friend.

It took a while, but they eventually made it to the top of one of the large dunes that surrounded the city. Off by about half a mile was an oasis that had sprouted about a week ago. The pool was already at least 100 feet wide, the biggest they'd seen in ages. It was surrounded by grasses that had recently sprung up, and the smooth surface barely rippled as the water glowed with the light of the moon and stars.

"It's still warm enough out that we can go swimming, but it's gonna get cold soon. Let's go!" Zoro was grinning as he bolted down the sand dune, the downward momentum increasing his speed. He was smiling broadly and laughing a tad as he ran, loving the feeling of running so fast and so free. Sanji wasn't far behind him, laughing as they bolted. His competitive side came out as he tried to get ahead of Zoro, who consequently tried to get ahead of him. Their competition ended in a rolling tumble down the last 30 feet of the hill.

The two boy's limbs were tangled up in each other, robes all twisted up. Zoro had almost lost his veil on the way down so his hair was showing a bit, but he'd worry about that in a minute. Right now, he was simply trying to get off the lad he'd landed on top of.

Sanji didn't at all mind that Zoro was lying on top of him. In fact, he wished that Zoro wouldn't try to get up and would just lay with him like this. He brought his hands up to Zoro's hips as he 'helped' try to separate them.

"Dammit, stupid prince! Your hands aren't helping!"

"Shut up, stupid swordsman! I just want your stupid ass off me!"

"If you want my ass off then stop groping it!"

"My hands are nowhere near your ass! Look! I'm grabbing your childbearing hips, see?" He gripped a little more firmly to emphasize his point.

"Child be—! Shut up!" The two began to tussle, but soon their argument lost its heat and they were simply wrestling for the fun of it. By the time they'd finally tuckered out, they were only a few feet from the edge of the water. They'd finally managed to untangle themselves and we're now lying side by side as they caught their breath.

"You know, I think I'm actually pretty lucky to be serving under you." Zoro thought aloud as he sat up.

Sanji felt his heart skip a beat and was about to respond when Zoro just had to open his mouth again.

"Aside from the fact that half the time you seem to get a kick out of humiliating me and whenever you're feeling particularly bratty you tend to treat me as a subhuman."

"No, I—"

"It's true, Sanji. You can't deny it." Zoro sighed, "but even so, there are times like this where I feel like your friend and your equal." He smiled, "And who knows, maybe someday my Dad will take me back and I can serve under my rightful title."

"No!" Sanji objected, quickly standing up as if he'd been scalded. "I don't want you to ever leave my side!"

"Sanji, my father is an elite! I shouldn't have to live the rest of my life as a servant."

"I don't care if your father is higher up than my family! You're mine! And I want you to stay with me..."

"Sanjiii..." Zoro sighed agitatedly, flopping back in the sand. When he heard rustling he sat back up on his elbows. "What are you doing?"

Sanji had his hands in the sack and he appeared to be rummaging about inside it. "You can't leave me...you can't!" He pulled out a box and a key, setting it on the sand.

"Sanji," Zoro sat up more, a feeling of uneasiness creeping up his spine, "what is that?"

Sanji stuck the key into the lock, having to jiggle it a bit before it turned. "It's why I can't let you leave."


	3. Bang Bang

Sanji pulled back the lid of the box, letting it rest back on its hinge before he reached inside, pulling out a silken cloth, dark blue in color with ornate gold designs embroidered on. It jangled a bit as Sanji unwrapped whatever was inside.

Zoro watched as Sanji unwound the silk cloth, feeling his eyes grow wide as the object inside came into view. It was a beautiful golden headpiece with swirled designs of jade embedded in the gold. There were discs and thin chains of tarnished gold that hung down from the crown. A sun of gold with a ruby center perched on the top of the front of the headpiece; the symbol of the royal family. It looked incredibly similar to the one Sanji had been wearing that day, only slightly smaller but more ornate.

"S-Sanji...you don't mean..."

"Zoro," Sanji got down on bended knee before Zoro, smiling somewhat bashfully as he presented the princess' crown, "we've been together as far back as I can remember, and I want to keep you by my side for all eternity. Zoro, I want you to be my one true love, to sire my children and the heir to my throne."

Zoro was completely taken aback, but when he finally took in what Sanji was asking, or demanding of him really, he grew angry.

"I’m sorry, but I cannot marry you." He spat, glaring down at the prince.

Sanji was...well he didn't quite know what he was feeling. Surprise and confusion came first before anger, but once the anger hit, it exploded. "WHAT! How-How _dare_ you! I just lowered myself and proposed to you, my _servant_ of all people, and you have the gall to refuse me? You dare humiliate me like this?!" Sanji threw the crown down with indignation.

"Sanji, you didn't _ask_ me to marry you, you simply wanted me to. Besides, think of your parents for once! They will want you to marry someone of equal status, or greater! Besides, I can't produce an heir! I’m a _man_ , Sanji! I would be entirely useless! Think of the future of this country! Of your people! For once in you _life_ Sanji, think of someone other than yourself!" Even as he was speaking, he was yelling at himself to stop. Sure, everything he was saying held an incredible amount of truth to it, and he'd often thought it, but he had stepped so far out of place as nothing more than a humble servant. He felt ashamed and opened his mouth to apologize, but Sanji's hand stopped him.

"Don't say another word or I'll have your head taken for your incredible impudence towards your master and the prince of this country. Were I King, what you’ve said I could take as treason." Sanji's glare was hard, eyes sharpening like an axe on the grind. He had tears both of anger and betrayal in his eyes. He'd always thought Zoro would want to be there beside him the same way he always wanted Zoro. Weren't they the best of friends? As close as close can be! Or so he'd foolishly thought.

Sanji adjusted his veil, turning up his chin haughtily. "I'm going on ahead. Find your own way home."

"Sanji, I—" He bit his tongue when Sanji shot him another warning glare before stalking off, running up the dune with as much dignity as one could run up such unstable terrain.

Zoro sighed, picking up the crown and it's box. Seriously, what had the prince been thinking? He was a man; what could he do as princess, as queen? It wasn't that homosexuality was frowned upon, in fact, it was encouraged. People from varying classes could have full relationships without the possibility of a child of mixed blood being born between classes, like Zoro had been. Such a birth was frowned upon, but the children weren't hated, but even if one of their parents were an elite, it was more than likely that they would never be able to take the throne.

In a way, Sanji's proposal would've been a major bonus for Zoro, but as his servant, he always had to keep Sanji's best interests at the top of his priorities. Even so, he felt no romantic connection to the blonde. He actually hadn't really thought about it. Yet, now that it'd been presented to him, Sanji's previous behavior actually began to make a bit of sense, even if it was still really weird in Zoro's mind.

Zoro waited until Sanji was over the crest of the dune before quickly following after him. He could never leave Sanji by himself, even if the blonde was terribly upset with him. When he finally made it over the dune, Sanji was nowhere to be seen.

"Ahh...shit..." he quickly took off down the other side of the dune and ran across the cooling sand. It already dropped about 10 degrees, so it was probably a good thing that they hadn't gone swimming. Zoro darted within the shadows of the outskirts of the city, as silent and stealthy as a thief in the night. His eyes were darting like mad, watching carefully for anything suspicious. Even with his hair hidden, he would still be in danger if he was caught, not to mention the trouble he'd be in for sneaking out of the palace. He just hoped Sanji would be okay.

As he wound his way down the streets, he quickly found himself back outside the city, staring at the dunes.

"Huh, how'd I wind up here?" Zoro scratched his head, trying to figure out which way to go. He was suddenly on high alert when he heard a noise behind him.

"Houu? What've we got here?"

_'Shit!'_

"Hey look, he's got a sword!"

"Bet it could go for a pretty price."

"And he's wearing a veil! Who even wears them at night?"

"Someone trying to hide his hair, obviously."

“Shut the hell up, man. I’m wearing a veil.”

“Yeaaah, well, you’re different, aren’tchya?”

Zoro spun around and saw three guys, probably around his age, standing in the road, blocking his way. A hand went to the hilt of his prized katana. "Out of my way. I don't want to have to hurt you."

"Look at him, talking all tough."

"Aren't you doing the same?" Zoro countered, agitatedly.

"Listen to that, he's using *high speech, he's gotta be a royal." The boy in the middle, presumably the leader, stepped forward, arms folded and wearing a frown. "Just hand over the sword and we'll let you go."

"But I thought you said that if he was a royal we were gonna kidnap him for ransom." The youngest looking of the three stepped out into the moonlight. He couldn't have been much over 10.

"Shut up you moron!"

Zoro slid his katana out an inch, preparing for a fight. "I don't want to have to hurt you, but I won't hesitate to do so."

"Then hand over the katana and show us your hair."

"I won't do either."

"Then you leave us no choice." A third boy, wearing a veil like Zoro was, stepped into the light. "We'll beat you up an take your sword by force. And you, if you’re a noble."

The three boys attacked in nearly perfect synchronization. Zoro was surprised by their speed and skill, but he wasn't immediately overwhelmed. He withdrew his sword and blocked their punches and kicks. Then one of them brought out a metal rod and the game changed instantly. Zoro stopped using just the back of his sword and attacked the black haired boy with the rod, metal clanging and screeching as they connected. Out of his peripheral, Zoro saw someone move and he lashed out, nicking the face of the youngest boy before getting hit upside the head by one of the rods. It was hard enough to get him bleeding, but not to kill him. The three boys took a moment as they looked down at their defeated opponent.

"H-Hey, we didn't kill him, did we?" The boy with the veil worried, crouching down to nudge Zoro gently.

"How should I know? I've never killed anyone before! I don't know what it takes!" The once ever so confident boys were overcome by panic. Even though they lived in one of the poorest districts, the law was still heavily enforced. If they were found guilty for murder, it would be the gallows for anyone even remotely involved. If the guy was a royal, the boys, along with their families could be placed in the stocks for weeks before they would be beheaded. Or tortured even! Burned at the stake!

The youngest boy reached forward and pulled the veil off the unconscious teen and the three of them gasped, terrified. He had light green hair, which meant he was just a step or two beneath the royal family. "W-Well...what now, Ace?"

"I'm thinking!" Ace bit his lip as his mental gears spun wildly out of control. "Guess we'll have to take him back home..."

"Dadan's gonna kill you..."

"Shut up, Sabo! You'll be in the shithouse right along with me!"

"Muuu, my face hurts!"

"Oh, shit, that's bleeding really bad... Did he get your eye? Move your hands..." Sabo gently pulled Luffy’s hand away to inspect the wound. He gave a gentle sigh of relief when he saw the cut had missed his brother’s eye. “You’ll be alright, but we should get home to Dadan.”

Ace hefted Zoro up over his shoulder, letting Sabo take care of the sword. “Come on, let’s go. Before someone sees us.”

The three boys hurried off into the night, disappearing in the shadows as they made haste to their shambles of a home.

\--

“WHAT HAVE YOU MORONS DONE?!” Dadan was absolutely livid—not that she wasn’t usually, but this time the situation could result in some serious consequences. Her moronic foster kids would surely be the death of her. “YOU _IDIOTS_ JUST BROUGHT—” she looked around before lowering her voice, “You _idiots_ just brought someone of noble standing, bloody and broken into my house! Are you trying to get me killed? You ungrateful brats!” Each kid received a well placed wallop atop their head, wincing at the initial blow, but doing nothing to retaliate. It was the least they deserved for screwing up so royally, literally.

Zoro started to wake, roused by all the loud noises. He blinked his eyes open, trying not to make a noise as pain throbbed through his head from the blow. He twisted his arms, feeling that his hands were tightly bound behind him. He was tied to a chair, ankles tied to the legs. The chair felt brittle enough to be able to break, but with his hands bound he’d quickly be subdued again.

Luffy seemed to be the only one to notice the stirring behind them, as Sabo and Ace were still too busy being chewed out. One of the benefits of being the youngest: the blame rarely ever fell to you when everyone had fucked up. He turned to look at Zoro, noticing sweat beading on his forehead. He walked over to him, looking him over, observing the gash on the back of his head that had gone unattended for the time being.

“Naaa...that looks like it hurts.” He poked at the trickle of congealing blood, making Zoro wince. “Sorry, sorry... But you’re awake, na? Oi, Dadan, he’s awa—”

“Shut it.” Zoro growled, eyes opening and glaring at the younger boy. “You’re giving me a headache.”

“Oh look, the hothouse plant is awake—ow!” Ace took another hit to the head.

“Quit insulting the royal, and get me some rags and a bowl of water, you useless brats! And get the fire going! Luffy, I want you to go and get that boy that dabbles with medicine, he should be able to help.” Dadan barked, finally getting the boys to move, though not without some grumbling.

Ace grabbed the buckets and headed to the oasis, hurrying so as not to get caught out after curfew. Luffy skittered through the alleys, not particularly scared of getting caught, but hurrying all the same. Walking was boring anyhow. Sabo stayed behind while Dadan and her crew headed out to hide any possible evidence.

Sabo put a couple feeble pieces of wood in the fire pit over the barely flickering embers, giving them a gentle blow as he encouraged a flame. Once it was lit, he sat back, waiting for the others to return. He looked over Zoro, who had let his eyes slip closed again.

“Sorry bout the ropes. We can’t have you running away though, I’m afraid.”

Zoro looked up, more tired than anything. “Why are you holding me here?”

Sabo leaned back against the wall, looking Zoro over. “Well, you’re from the palace right? Not a member of the royal family, but you’re pretty high up there, right? ...What’s your position?”

Zoro sighed, figuring he wouldn’t really lose anything being honest. “I’m the right hand of the prince.” And his left, if Zoro was being completely honest. He had about an hour before Sanji started throwing a bitch fit about how he wasn’t back yet. Which would mean a world full of trouble for him.

Sabo tensed, an expression Zoro couldn’t quite place crossing his features. “Shit, you’re serious...” Sabo bit his lip a bit as he thought, “It might be better if we let you go...” He steeled his expression, getting up and going over to Zoro, crouching down in front of him. “If we give you your sword back, you must swear not to tell anyone.”

“It wouldn’t benefit me to do so.” Zoro shifted in his chair. “I swear I’ll keep it a secret.”

Sabo nodded, taking a peek outside. Before picking up a piece of firewood. “Sorry about this.” He drew his arm back and swung, knocking Zoro out again.

When Zoro came to, he was in his bed again, sword propped up beside it. His head hurt like hell, and when he reached up to touch it, he could feel a large lump on the back of his head. The sun was just coming up, which meant he was already late. He may have head his head practically bashed in, but that sure as shit didn’t excuse him from his duties. He just hoped Sanji wouldn’t be too angry with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *In my mind, they’re not speaking English. So basically Zoro slipped up a bit and used a dialect/accent common only among people of upper/royal/elitist class.


	4. All Better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost 2 years since I updated whoops sorry about that.

The next morning in the lower district, everyone was still on edge and varying degrees of irritated with Sabo. They were upset that the boy had acted without discussing it with them. Ace and Luffy returned around the same time, Luffy disappointed that the interesting addition to their lives had to depart so soon. He’d hoped that maybe they could be friends! Ace and Dadan couldn’t let go of the possibility that Zoro would turn on them; turn them in.

“Look,” Sabo defended, “I gave the guy an ultimatum. If he swore to keep his promise, I’d return his sword before knocking him out and taking him home. If he hadn’t sworn, I would’ve knocked him out and dragged his ass home anyway.” That did little to reassure them, as Zoro could’ve easily lied. “Look, he has no idea where we live, and it would do him more harm than good to confess to having been taken captive.”

Ace went up to Sabo, getting right in his face. “If we get caught cause you fucked up, I swear I’ll kill you before those royal bastards get the chance.”

Sabo squared his shoulders, matching Ace’s penetrating glare with one of his own. “I’d like to see you try.”

Luffy frowned as his brothers fought. It was nothing new, but he still didn’t like it when they did, especially over something that had already been dealt with. He sighed, looking back at the chair the green-haired boy had been tied to when he noticed something. He went over to the satchel that had been left behind, eyes shining with curious interest when he found a box with a lock and key inside.

“Hey, Ace! Sabo! Look at this!”

“Not now, Luffy.” Sabo threw over his shoulder before continuing to argue with Ace. The two boys had started shoving each other. It would become a physical fight soon enough.

“But guuuys!”

Ace, having finally gotten annoyed by his brother’s persistent whining, turned to yell at Luffy when he noticed what the boy was holding. “Wh… Where did you get that?”

Sabo looked past Ace and over at Luffy, eyes going wide when he saw the opened box. “Oh, shit…”

\--

“You _lost_ it!?” Sanji cried in disbelief when Zoro reported to him that morning. He removed his breakfast tray from his lap and got out of bed, still in his nightwear. “I can’t believe you were so stupid! We are going to be in the worst trouble of our lives all because of you!” Sanji stomped over to the window, hands on his hips as he silently fumed.

Zoro kept his eyes trained on the ground as Sanji threw a fit. He wasn’t going to retaliate by mentioning that this was just as much, if not completely, his master’s fault. Although, Zoro also dreaded the consequences of their actions. Not only for sneaking out of the castle, but for losing the princess’ crown on top of that.

The prince turned to continue his verbal assault directed at Zoro when he noticed that the older boy had a casual veil on. He furrowed his brow in confusion. “Why are you wearing a veil? Only members of the royal court wear their veils outside of ceremonies.”

Zoro’s brow furrowed. He had hoped that the self-absorbed prince wouldn’t notice, but Sanji was more astute than he’d given him credit for. He was about to give an excuse when Sanji cut him off.

“Take it off.” The prince demanded, watching as Zoro hesitantly began to remove the cloth covering his hair. From the front, Zoro didn’t look any different, but as he approached, circling around his servant, Sanji could see the wound on the back of the boy’s head. In a matter of moments, Sanji’s expression went from shock to realization to unbridled rage.

“Wh— Who _dares_ t— I— Wha—” Zoro had never seen Sanji so furious. The prince was so enraged he couldn’t even get his words out. He sputtered, eyes darting as he tried to get his thoughts together.

Zoro reached a hand out, but he didn’t touch Sanji just yet. He wanted to calm the prince down before he did something rash out of explosive anger. “Sanji, it’s okay. I slipped up. This was my fault. I wasn’t paying enough attention to—”

Sanji’s eyes flickered to the extended hand, seeing the rope burn around one of his wrists. His glare darkened, his lips twitching in his anger. “Hands.” He held out his own hands expectantly, waiting for Zoro to comply. “Your hands, give them to me.”

“Sanji—”

“Hands!” Zoro gave up and held his arms out for Sanji to examine. The prince, even in his anger, took Zoro’s hands gently in his own. The alabaster fingers traced over the rough, red skin that circled Zoro’s wrists. “You were tied up…”

“Sanji, it’s not…”

“Shut up!” Sanji snapped, “This—!” The prince’s angry frown faltered and soon melted into a look of guilt. “This… this was my fault.” He let go of Zoro’s hands and turned Zoro’s back to him so he could get a better look at the wound. There were two large welts underneath where the skin had split. There were still flecks of dried blood in the green hair and a nasty bruise covered most of the back of Zoro’s head. It tugged painfully at Sanji’s heart. “Does it hurt?”

“Not at all. I barely feel it.”

Shifting from sympathetic to annoyed, Sanji gently prod around the wound, seeing his friend flinch and hiss at the touch. “That’s what I thought. We should take you to the healer.”

Zoro pulled away, shaking his throbbing head before turning back to face the prince. He placed the veil back on his head. “No. If we do that, we’ll have to explain how this happened. You’ll get in trouble, it’s not worth it.”

“I’ll take the blame.” Sanji announced firmly, “I can just say I got mad and threw something at you, or that I shoved you and you fell and hit your head or something.” Sanji’s lip wobbled as his eyes misted over. “That’s a serious injury, Zoro. You could’ve… died. I left you behind knowing how easily you get lost, and then this happened.” He reached out and pulled Zoro into a hug, sniffling against his shoulder. “I could’ve lost you…”

Zoro didn’t know what to say, what to do. Now that he knew about Sanji’s feelings towards him, he was hesitant to do anything that might leave room for misunderstanding. Although, he’d never seen Sanji so openly admit to fault. He must’ve really been rattled. After a minute, he hugged Sanji back, stroking over the blonde hair. That always seemed to calm the prince down.

The prince sniffled against his friend’s shoulder until he felt better. He managed a quiet laugh, “It’s silly that you’re the one injured, but you’re still comforting me. You really are amazing, Zoro.”

Zoro sighed, patting Sanji’s back before pulling away. “I should get hit on the head more often if it means you being nice to me.” However, his joke hadn’t landed, and Sanji was back to being angry.

“I’ll kill them.” Sanji swore, “I swear to all the gods that if I ever find the people that hurt you I will kill them. No one will ever lay a hand on you again.” His fists were balled up at his sides as he thought about the revenge he’d extract. Zoro, however, didn’t have time for the prince’s melodrama, and instead shoved Sanji back onto the bed, making the blonde blush. “Z-Zoro?”

“Finish your breakfast. I’ll go pick out your clothes while you eat. You’re going to be late for your lessons.” With that, Zoro went into the closet to begin assembling the prince’s clothes for the day. He didn’t know why he still picked the prince’s clothes out. The boy always complained about Zoro’s fashion sense and wound up picking out his ensemble himself.

Sanji frowned when he realized that Zoro’s actions had been completely innocent, but agreed. He took an annoyed bite of ham. Why hadn’t Zoro said anything about what had happened to him last night? How had he just brushed Sanji’s proposal off like it was nothing? And how the hell were they going to get the crown back?

\--

Late that night, Zoro was finally free of his duties and went to his room to lie down. He flopped down on his bed face first, more than ready to immediately pass out. Sanji had been extra clingy all day and had inadvertently run him ragged. Suddenly, he heard a suspicious noise outside his window and he shot up. Moving that quickly, he realized, was a mistake. The world spun and he got woozy for a moment. The wound on his head was probably worse than he’d originally thought.

A hook flew through the open window and caught on the sill. Zoro grabbed his sword, preparing to cut the rope should he need to. He peeked outside, seeing the three boys he’d come across last night. Two of the boys remained on the ground holding the rope steady while a third made his way up.

Ace was starting to climb up the rope when a head poked out the window above him. He startled and almost fell, but kept his grip. There was a pregnant pause where neither boy moved, but eventually Zoro pulled back, disappearing back inside. When his rope wasn’t cut, Ace figured he had the go-ahead to keep climbing.

Zoro was checking the halls, making sure no one, especially the insomniac prince, was approaching his room. He closed the door and turned to face the window again, hand still on his sword as he waited for the boy to approach.

Ace pulled himself into Zoro’s room, taking a moment to shake out his hands and arms after the long climb. He had a very familiar looking satchel over his shoulder and Zoro felt relief wash over him in such huge waves that he almost sank to the floor.

“This is yours, right?” Ace whispered as he pulled the bag off his person. “Sabo forgot to bring it with when he dragged your ass back here.” He went rigid. Shit, he’d given the prince’s right hand one of their names.

“Yeah,” Zoro heaved a sigh as he approached the boy, “thank you for returning it. You really saved me.” He took the satchel from Ace’s hands, opening and checking the contents. The key and the box were both inside. With an inquisitive shake, he confirmed that the crown was also still inside.

“You know, we didn’t have to return that.” Ace crossed his arms, smirking at the prince’s servant. “We really risked our hides coming all the way here to return your precious crown. I think we deserve some sort of compensation for our efforts.”

Zoro frowned, not liking the sudden cocky attitude of this commoner. “You’re trying to blackmail me? While _inside_ the royal palace? Are you some sort of idiot? I could get you caught in a heartbeat.” He had to hide his smirk when he saw the fear of realization dawn on the raven-haired teen’s face.

“W-Well...” Ace tutted, looking down and away, “then, I guess we’ll be going then.” He turned to leave when a hand clamped down on his shoulder.

“Wait,” Zoro removed his hand when Ace turned back around, “I can grab some leftovers before they get tossed. I don’t appreciate your tactics, but I can appreciate that you brought me the crown back.” Zoro opened the door to check the hallway once more before going over to Ace and shoving him towards the wardrobe. “Tell your brothers to get up here. It’s too risky outside. You three hide in here till I get back.”

“How the hell can I trust that? You just threatened to report us!” Ace argued back, digging in his heels and refusing to do as the younger boy demanded. “How can I know that you won’t just go get the guards while we’re trapped like rats!”

Heaving a sigh, Zoro pulled up the veil from on head and showed Ace the untreated wound. “I didn’t report _this,_ I won’t report you now.”

Ace was taken aback when confronted with the wound he’d delivered only yesterday. Still, who was this kid to call Ace an idiot when he himself hadn’t bothered to get medical treatment for an obviously serious wound? He grimaced at the sight, turning away. “Alright, we’ll wait here.”

Zoro nodded before replacing the veil on his head and leaving to go grab the boys some food. In hindsight, Zoro would realize that leaving several commoners alone in his room was probably not the smartest thing to do, but he trusted them not to do anything stupid.

It wasn’t hard to get into the kitchen, explaining on the way that he was just following the prince’s demands. No one ever questioned him when he used that excuse, as most of the staff knew how Sanji could be. He slipped into the kitchen and grabbed a couple loaves of bread, a large wedge of cheese and several links of sausage. He bundled it all into a cloth and returned to his room. Just as he approached his bedroom door, he heard the clank of Sanji’s door opening.

Sanji had a bowl for water, a couple rags, some bandages, and a couple vials filled with what was assumedly medicine. He had a pleased grin on his face as he turned to head towards Zoro’s room, and was surprised to see Zoro out and about.

“Zoro!” Sanji whispered loudly as he ran over, hands occupied with the medical supplies. He frowned when he noticed that bundle in Zoro’s arms. “What’s that?”

“Oh, I, uh, didn’t get a chance to grab dinner so I went to the kitchen to grab some stuff.” Zoro wasn’t confident in his lying capabilities, but Sanji seemed to either not care or he bought it. He was pretty sure it was the former.

“Well, anyways, I got some stuff to help patch up your wound, look!” Sanji held up the supplies, as if waiting to be praised for thinking up such an idea.

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that. Thank you, Sanji.” Zoro furrowed his brow, troubled by his master’s sudden appearance. “You should get back to bed, though. It’s late and you’re not supposed to be out of your room.”

Sanji rolled his eyes, “I don’t care about that. I came here to help take care of your wound so that’s what I’m going to do. C’mon, let’s do it in your room.” Sanji blushed a little at the implications of his words, but leave it to Zoro’s direct nature to not pick up on it.

Zoro knew that once Sanji had decided on something, it was nigh impossible to get him to change his mind. He just hoped that the boys had managed to hide themselves in time. “Sanji,” he announced as he opened the door, alerting the boys that he was not alone, “I can take care of the wound myself. You don’t need to do this.”

“Don’t be stubborn. You won’t take care of yourself unless I tell you to.” The prince rebuffed, but Zoro was determined to make him give up.

“I wouldn’t need to take care of myself if it weren’t for you.” That one may have been over the bounds of what Sanji accepted as appropriate banter.

“That was—!” The prince’s chest puffed up indignantly as he prepared to yell at his friend, but the words caught in his throat. He couldn’t bring himself to let the tirade of abuse fall from his lips. It wasn’t right, he knew that, but that hadn’t stopped him before. So what was stopping him this time? The guilt, perhaps.

Zoro instinctively dropped his head and muttered an apology, but when Sanji didn’t get outwardly mad or try to kick him he looked back up at the blonde.

Sanji’s face was twisted up into a complex mix of emotions. This feeling, guilt... Robin had told him it was normal to feel that way when you’d done something wrong. She’d said his feeling guilty was a good thing, that it meant he was growing up, but Sanji wasn’t sure he liked it.

“No, you’re right.” He set the bowl down and sat on the floor. “I’m trying to take some responsibility here. Robin was telling me that in order to be a good ruler some day I need to take care of those under me. Can you grab your water pitcher for me?”

Zoro glanced at his wardrobe as he walked over to the stand with his wash pitcher and basin. He grabbed the pitcher before sitting down with a sigh. He was facing his window, and noticed with a bit of relief that the boys had pulled up the rope and hidden with it. The satchel too, for whatever reason. “You’re being surprisingly mature today.” He pulled off his veil, noticing with some disdain that it had adhered to his wound a little.

“Shut up.” Sanji took the pitcher and filled the bowl. He soaked the rag a moment before wringing it out. With unsure hands, Sanji began to clean the wound. “Looks like it started bleeding a little again. You should’ve gone to see the healer this morning, idiot.”

“Mm...” Zoro grunted, closing his eyes as Sanji dabbed at his wound. He winced when Sanji pressed a little too hard, earning another quiet apology.

The prince didn’t say anything more as he cleaned the blood from his friend’s head. When that was finished, he let the rag sit in the red-tinted water. He popped the cork on the topical medicine, dabbing some onto a fresh rag. “Yesterday...”

Zoro tensed, thinking the prince was going to bring up the proposal. He wasn’t sure he would ever be comfortable addressing that debacle. He didn’t push though, letting Sanji get out whatever he needed to.

“Yesterday, you were telling me that I needed to start acting my age. We’re not kids anymore, and if I’m going to be someone my country can rely on, I can’t keep acting selfishly. I want to be a good king, and to do that I need to be a good prince first.”

“That’s...hm.” Zoro wasn’t sure what to say, but he wanted to acknowledge that his master had grown as a person, seemingly overnight.

Sanji began to dab the medicine on Zoro’s wound, making the boy hiss in discomfort. “Ah, yeah, the healer said this would sting a bit. Hold still, I’m not done yet.”

“Warn me next time!” Zoro complained, but he held still as commanded. The two of them sat in silence for a moment more before Zoro spoke up again. “You’ve grown a lot after only a day. There’s no way you can go from being a selfish brat to a respectable leader after just one night—ow!”

“I told you this stuff stings.” Though Sanji had purposely been a little extra rough with that last dab. “And besides, as long as I can still be selfish with you it’ll be alright, I think.” Sanji put the medicine aside and began to wrap the bandages, though somewhat sloppily. “Huh, this is harder than I thought it’d be. It’s not staying.”

Zoro wasn’t crazy about the idea of the prince focusing _all_ of his selfishness towards him. He’d never get a moment’s peace. “I can take care of bandaging my head. You should go to bed, Sanji, it’s past midnight.” More than anything, Zoro just wanted to sleep. He had to be awake again at first light to begin his duties anew.

“Hmpf, fine.” Sanji bunched up the bandages and got up to throw them on the washstand with a huff. “I’ll go back to my room then. You can finish fixing your own stupid head.” Sanji went back to the supplies and picked up the other medicine bottle, practically shoving it in Zoro’s face. “A couple drops of this in water twice a day for a week, okay? It’s supposed to help fight against infection.”

“Got it.” Zoro stood up and took the bottle, rolling it around in his hands. “Thank you, Sanji. This was...very nice of you.” He wondered what the prince could’ve possibly told the healer to get a hand on all this stuff, but, again, he decided not to push it.

“Well, yeah, cause...” Sanji took a deep breath, as if steeling himself. Zoro’s brow drew down in a confused frown, not particularly liking where this was going. “It’s cause I love you, you idiot! Don’t do stuff that scares me like that ever again!” With that, the prince hurried out of the room, face bright red as he fled.

Zoro’s face started to burn when he realized that the three peasant boys were still hiding in the wardrobe and had heard their entire exchange. He went over and pulled the doors open, finding the three boys huddled inside. The youngest boy had his hands clamped over his mouth as he tried not to laugh. The older two were sporting shit-eating grins, their eyes shining with mischief.

“Not a word.” Zoro warned before stepping away to pick up the sack of food. “Here, take this and leave.”

“Sooo, the prince’s right hand, eh?” Ace teased cockily as he pulled himself from the wardrobe. “More like the prince’s pet.”

“It must be pretty nice having the prince wrapped around your finger like that. You could probably use that if you played your cards right.” Sabo interjected, hopping out alongside Luffy.

“You said you brought food. Is it in here? Wooah, it feels like there’s a lot in here!” Luffy took the bag and started to pull it open when Sabo intervened, struggling to pull it away from the hungry youngest boy.

“Here,” Ace handed over the satchel, the rope hook hung over his shoulder, “I’m sure your prince will be happy to have that back.” Ace’s cocky smirk fell when he saw the glare on the servant’s face. “What’s the problem?”

“Nothing.” Zoro took the satchel back with maybe a bit too much force. “Take the food and get out of here. I don’t want to catch you here again.”

Ace put his hands up, indicating he wanted no further trouble. “Hey, man, you got it.” The dark haired teen set up the rope, letting his brothers climb down first. He climbed out the window, getting ready to descend when he looked up at Zoro with a smirk. “We better not catch you in the outskirts again either. Not everyone there is as nice as we are.” With that Ace hurried down the rope and disappeared into the night alongside the other two boys.

Zoro went to his window, grabbing the hook and pulling up the rope. He went to his wardrobe and hid it in the back. The brothers had certainly been an interesting break in the norm, and he couldn’t help but wonder if maybe their paths would cross again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may have noticed I changed it from Luffy/Zoro to Ace/Zoro. This is partially because it will make more sense this way story wise further down the road, but also because ever since i started to headcanon luffy as ace/aro its gotten really hard for me to ship him with anyone whoops (except maybe law) but that's neither here nor there.
> 
> hope y'all continue reading!!


	5. Sound the Alarm

Several months had passed since the incident, and everything seemed to have gone back to normal. Sanji was in the middle of his studies when Zoro burst in, clearly in a hurry. He was covered in sweat and dirt, still wearing his training armor. His hair, which had grown out a bit to help hide the scars on the back of his head, was tousled, some of it sticking to the sweat on his forehead.

“I’ve been instructed to escort you to the safety of your room.” Sanji didn’t even have time to fully appreciate Zoro’s unkempt look before he was whisked away. Zoro had a tight grip on his wrist as the two hurried through the lesser-used hallways of the castle.

“What’s going on, Zoro? I was in the middle of a lesson.” Not that the interruption was unwelcome, but something was clearly wrong. There were more guards in the halls of the castle than normal and all of them suited up. When he finally caught a glance out a passing window, Sanji saw the knights assembling out front. “Are we under attack? Zoro, answer me!”

Zoro didn’t speak until they made it back to Sanji’s room. He locked the heavy door, placing a bar over it. “Where’s the key to your safe room?” After closing the window and drawing the drapes, he started to search the room, checking every possible hiding place for intruders.

“I have it here.” Sanji grabbed the key that always hung around his neck and pulled it out from under his tunic. Every member of the royal family had one. “Tell me what’s happening. Are we under attack?”

Zoro took the key from around Sanji’s neck, making the prince’s cheeks tinge a faint red, and unlocked the secret passage in the wall behind the layers of tapestry. There was a loud clank and a section of the wall swung inwards. He wrapped the key in its cord and tucked it into a pouch on his sword belt. “There’s a room at the end of this passageway. I’ve been told not to tell you anything more until we get there.” He grabbed a lantern and lit it, heading for the opened passage.

Sanji folded his arms across his chest and stubbornly refused to budge from where he stood. If Zoro really wanted to he could’ve physically overpowered him, but Sanji knew that he wouldn’t even try it. “I’m not hiding in a dark, dirty hole in the wall until you tell me why.”

“Would it kill you to just listen to me on this? I’m on direct orders not to—” Sanji didn’t budge. He didn’t even bat an eye as he waited for Zoro to cave. Zoro bit his lip in frustration, heaving a sigh as he resigned. “There’s been a serious threat on your life. Troops from the neighboring kingdom are gathering at the southern border. I...wasn’t told why they’re gathering, just that I need to get you to safety. Someone may have infiltrated the castle.”

Sanji’s eyes widened and his brow crinkled in alarm. He had a lot of questions to ask, but he was pretty sure Zoro wouldn’t be able to answer most of them. Plus, this wasn’t exactly the time. He took the lantern from Zoro and started to make his way down the dusty, cob webbed hall. Zoro pushed the heavy door closed behind them and locked it before catching up to the prince.

Sanji was effectively creeped out by all the spider webs and skittering insects that would dart out of the light. He let out a strangled groan as he fell back to hide behind Zoro, gripping tight to his shoulder. “It’s…creepy in here… Ugh, this is _disgusting._ ”

“Try and bear with it. We’ve got a bit of a walk ahead of us.” Zoro pulled out his sword, scabbard and all, and was using it to knock down the larger cobwebs so the prince wouldn’t have to walk through them. He almost dropped his sword when Sanji suddenly screamed. The lantern clattered to the ground, but luckily stayed lit.

“Sanji, what the—”

“Something crawled over my foot!” The prince started flailing, slapping at his feet as he tried to get rid of the offending critter. “Zoro, carry me! There are bugs everywhere!”

“I’m not carrying you! Man up, Sanji, they’re just bugs.” Zoro was about to bend down to retrieve the light when Sanji suddenly clung to him once more. The prince wrapped his arms tightly around Zoro’s chest, pinning his arms to his sides and effectively bringing him to a halt. “What’re you—”

“Look, I know I said I was going to try and be less selfish, but bugs really freak me out!” He buried his face against the crook of Zoro’s neck, arms squeezing tighter.

There were plenty of times where Sanji would cling and whine and demand attention, but Zoro felt that this wasn’t just a bratty episode. He could feel Sanji trembling gently against him, but it was unrealistic to carry him, especially while he was in his armor.

“I can’t carry you all the way there, especially not when I’m in my armor. Plus, I have my weapon and the lantern to carry.”

“Then put it away and I’ll keep carrying the lantern while you carry me.” Sanji offered quietly, but he had a feeling it wouldn’t fly.

“You’ll just have to tough it out. We have to keep walking, Sanji, I need to get you to the safe room. By stopping here, you’re spending more time amongst the bugs.” Zoro tried to step forward to get them moving again, but Sanji held fast. Zoro was growing exasperated. “Sanji, your life could be in danger. This isn’t the time for you to be obstinate.”

“I know. I know my life is in danger. What I don’t know is _why_ someone wants to kill me. Why are they trying to start a war? Why now? And for what? I’m scared enough of getting killed and now I have to hide in some dark, dirty room filled with _bugs_!”

Zoro went quiet as he thought about how Sanji must’ve been feeling at that moment. Zoro’d had it pounded into his head for as long as he could remember that his life was expendable. That in order to be a good guardsman and a right hand to the future king of this country, he couldn’t be afraid to die for his lord and master. He knew that in the grand scheme of things, his life didn’t matter to anyone other than Sanji. On the other hand, the murder of a member of the royal family meant the death of thousands of people, a war that could last for years to come.

“Come on.” Zoro stuck his weapon back into his sword belt and took one of the hands that clutched at his chest, gently pulling it away. “I know you’re scared, but we have to keep moving.” Once he’d managed to pry Sanji free, he bent down to pick up the lantern.

The young warrior started to walk ahead, but Sanji gripped tight to his hand. He turned to start to scold the prince, but he could see that Sanji was trying to say something so he stayed quiet. “If…” Even in the low light Zoro could see how red Sanji was starting to turn. “If you hold my hand, it might help me not be scared.”

“You—!” Zoro’s brow wrinkled into a harsh frown, his lips drawing back into a snarl. “I swear, Sanji, if this whole bit was just you trying to be sly—”

“It’s not! I swear!” A faint banging could be heard from the other side of the secret door and both boys felt their hearts drop into their stomachs. Their faces both dropped into panic as they stared at the passage’s entrance. It was probably a guard checking the premises, but they couldn’t be too careful.

“Come on,” Zoro whispered, “we have to hurry.” He let Sanji grip onto his hand as they started running down the passage. They came to a flight of tight, winding stairs that descended until they were underground before the passage turned back into a long hallway. They felt safe enough to slow their pace back to a brisk walk.

The entire time they were walking, Sanji never let go of Zoro’s hand. When Zoro had tried to let go, Sanji gripped tighter until he was sure his friend had given up on pulling away.

“Heh, it’s a good thing it’s a straight shot, or you’d have gotten us hopelessly lost.” Sanji teased, trying to ease some of his own tension by picking on Zoro. He looked down at their hands, still blushing at the warmth between their palms. Even though he wished that their fingers could be intertwined, he was pleased.

“I would not! I know where I’m going...” Zoro grumped back, picking up on the shift in Sanji’s demeanor. “If you’re not scared anymore, then let go of my hand.”

“Nope! If I do that, you might wander off.” Sanji squeezed Zoro’s hand, bumping their shoulders together. “We used to hold hands all the time when we were little, remember?”

Zoro thought back, remembering when they were maybe five or six and Sanji would drag him all over the palace on their little adventures. He wouldn’t have called it holding hands, but he supposed Sanji remembered it differently than he did. “Hm, I guess I remember something like that…” Zoro looked over at the prince, noting his pleased expression. Sanji was clearly happy that he had remembered. “How can you be so pleased while your life’s in danger?”

Sanji’s grin faltered a moment before he looked down at his feet as they kept walking. “Well, that’s... that’s because you’re here. I always feel safest and happiest when you’re with me.” Zoro couldn’t help the incredulous guffaw that escaped his lips. He was about to say something when Sanji opened his mouth once more. “Plus, there are over three hundred guards in the castle, a hundred knights, and an army of thousands. I wasn’t in any real danger to begin with.”

Zoro frowned and ripped his hand away from Sanji’s. He should’ve known that the prince would try and manipulate him, get him to play right into his stupid mind games. He couldn’t believe he’d felt sorry for Sanji for even a second. “I can see the door, we’re almost there.”

“H-Hey, Zoro? What’s the matter?” Sanji frowned when he didn’t get a response. “Don’t you dare ignore me!” Yet Zoro kept on walking, not sparing him a glance. The prince clamped a hand on Zoro’s shoulder, finally getting the older boy to stop and pay attention to him. “I’ll have you know that just because I knew my life wasn’t in any real danger, that doesn’t mean I wasn’t scared, okay? I was honestly afraid that something bad would happen and that your stupid ass would get hurt protecting me.”

Zoro searched Sanji’s eyes, trying to find any indication that the prince was lying to him. The clear, blue eyes were fixed on him with a firm stare, and despite Sanji’s history of manipulating him, Zoro felt he could trust the prince’s words. “…Okay.” Zoro nodded, “Okay, I believe you. Now let’s get you to the safe room, the Queen is probably there already.”

“My mother?” Sanji’s brow furrowed as the two began walking again. He knew his father would need to be present to guide the troops, but his mother was often consulted for strategic matters. Anyone who knew the royal family personally knew who really ran the country.

“How’d she get here so fast?”

Zoro paused, as if his mind needed to buffer before he could answer. “There are four secret passages that lead to the safe room,” he recited as if reading from a textbook, “one in your chambers and... uh... there’s... there’s one in the throne room, and uh... two... three? ...two others? ...leading from...”

The young guard petered out into a mutter as he tried to remember what he’d been told many times before. Sanji had to bite his lips in an attempt not to laugh, but he couldn’t help the snort that escaped through his nose. Zoro was trying so hard to remember; it was endearing.

“Shut up! Don’t laugh!” Zoro had parroted all that he could remember. A knight, Zoro’s personal instructor, had explained to him the workings of the palace for security reasons, but Zoro had always found it difficult to remember. There were too many hidden passageways and secret doors for the poor directionally challenged boy to ever hope to remember.

“I know, I know. You did well remembering where mine was, and you brought me here without incident.” The prince patted his faithful servant on the head, “I’ll make sure to let your sword master know how well you did.”

“Don’t you look down on me!” Zoro’s cheeks turned faintly red with embarrassment. He was thankful when they finally made it to the door. “Here we are. You’ll be safe in here,” the young guard explained. “Now that I’ve escorted you here, I have to get back to the knights.”

“You’re not staying here with me? Who will protect me?” Sanji was a little let down. Although, as he thought about it, maybe that was for the best. Being locked in with Zoro would’ve been nice, but his mother would have been there too, watching them closely. A mood killer, if there ever was one.

“There are two guards inside every door. You’ll be safe here.” Zoro pulled the key out of his pocket, unwinding it and holding it out for the prince to take. “I’ll be back for you once we’ve eliminated the threat.”

Sanji took the key and rolled it over in his hand. He unlocked the door, but instead of going inside right away he turned back to Zoro and hung the key around his servant’s neck. He whispered so the guards inside wouldn’t hear. “I’ll give you my blessing.”

“Your blessing?” Zoro cocked his head, confused. He held the key in his hand and looked down at it, not understanding. “I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to give me your ke—” He was interrupted when he felt Sanji kiss his forehead.

“There, now that you have a prince’s blessing, you’ll come back safely.” Sanji covered his blushing face and hurried into the safe room to join his mother, too embarrassed to look at his friend any longer. He’d finally gotten up the courage to kiss Zoro, even if it was only on the forehead.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not the saying.” Zoro mumbled to himself before turning on his heel to start the long jog back. Meanwhile, he was trying not to let Sanji’s actions interfere with his focus. He didn’t want to dwell on what the kiss actually meant, but after being made aware of Sanji’s feelings months ago he was forced to be on high alert. He was certain the prince still held affection for him beyond that of friendship, but given how poorly the last rejection had ended, Zoro wasn’t exactly looking forward to having another confrontation. He tucked the key under his armor, putting it out of his mind for the time being.

Leaving the secret passage, Zoro carefully surveyed Sanji’s room, seeing that no one had made it inside. He hurried to get back to where the knights were assembling. It was lucky that this was a path he often took or there was no way he’d have made it back in a timely fashion.

Despite making it back amongst the ranks without too much delay, he was still harshly scolded by his teacher. “You’re cutting it close again. Or does a threat to the royal family not concern you enough to be punctual?”

Zoro raised his hand to cover his right eye in salute. “Please forgive me, Sir, but if I may report that the prince—” has been secured in the safe room without incident.’ Was what Zoro was going to say, but his teacher interrupted before he could finish.

“I hope you don’t expect to be able to continue getting away with using the prince’s obstinacy as an excuse to be late.” His teacher’s words were sharp and biting. His patience had clearly already run out long before Zoro had gotten there. The boy was now just the unwitting recipient of a day’s worth of frustrations. “You are responsible for his safety whether or not he’s being cooperative that day.”

Zoro kept his arm up in salute, but let his eyes drop down in shame. “I understand, Sir—”

“Debatable. However, I assume you wouldn’t have returned without ensuring the safety of the prince.” The knight arched his eyebrow, challenging the boy to answer with anything other than an affirmative.

“Prince Sanji is safe. He was escorted without incident,” Zoro finally reported.

“Good. Now come, we’ve got a city to secure. You’ll be coming with me to secure the southern portion of the lower city.” The knight mounted his horse. A small squad of fifty men had assembled behind him, ready to head out at his command.

“I’ll be joining you, Sir?” Usually, Zoro was considered too young and too inexperienced to participate in any of the action. Plus, not that Zoro knew it, Sanji had spoken to the knight. He’d practically begged him to keep Zoro away from dangerous situations as much as possible. The knight had had to resist the urge to outwardly roll his eyes.

“Despite what I hesitate to call orders, I can’t expect you to ever learn anything if all of your training is in the castle yard. If you have a problem with this, take it up with the prince. I haven’t time for whining or complaints.” The knight looked down at the boy, surprised to see the gleam of excitement and anticipation in his cinnamon eyes. He’d never seen the kid look so happy.

“Thank you for the opportunity, Sir. I won’t disappoint you.” Zoro’s chest puffed up with pride and he tightened up his salute. He was finally going to serve with actual purpose; not just the usual trivial tasks Sanji gave him.

“Get in formation, Roronoa.” There was a touch of fondness in the stoic knight’s tone, but it disappeared the second he began to address his squad. “Alright, men! We’re looking for three assailants who, according to citizens’ reports, have taken shelter in the lower city. They will more than likely be wearing veils. We’re under direct orders to bring in anyone who seems even remotely suspicious. If you see anyone wearing a veil and they refuse to remove it, you are to bring them in for questioning. Am I understood?”

“Yes, Sir Dracule!” The troops saluted before heading through the gates ahead of their commanding officer. The squadron made haste through the city streets, citizens watching through the cracks in their windows. By the king’s decree, no citizen was to be out in the streets while the army scoured the city for the enemy.

Zoro hurried through the streets alongside the other soldiers. The excitement to prove himself had given way to focused determination. He was going to find the people who had threatened the prince and bring them to justice. He wanted to prove to the knights, and to Sanji, that he was capable of more than what anyone gave him credit for. He refused to be a lap dog any longer.

\--

Once they hit the lower city, the squadron fanned out, searching every dirty alleyway and knocking on every door. Every citizen of the lower city was forced out of their home, being made to stand with their hands on their heads as the soldiers searched their homes. So far, everyone was willing to cooperate. If a war did break out, their homes would be the first destroyed in a siege. They held no loyalty to the enemy.

The young knight in training was about to knock on another door when he heard a sharp whisper from around the corner. Intrigued, but not so foolhardy that he’d check out the noise blindly, Zoro put his hand on the hilt of his weapon before turning the corner. What surprised him most was that he recognized the person who’d called out to him.

“ _You_ guys...? What’re you doing—”

“Shh! Quick, before they see you talking to us!” Ace motioned for Zoro to approach from where they were hidden behind several rain barrels. He was hiding alongside the youngest boy, who was more than happy to see their friend again. Zoro was confused when he didn’t see the third boy with them.

“Hey—!” Luffy waved and started to leave their hiding place when Ace’s hand clamped over his mouth, preventing him from continuing to loudly greeting the young guard. Luffy scratched at the hand, but Ace held firm.

“We need your help.” Ace begged, his expression serious but there was panic in his eyes. He kept glancing behind Zoro as if another soldier could appear any moment. “If they find Sabo, they’re going to take him prisoner. Please, you have to help us.”

Zoro frowned, not understanding why Sabo would be in trouble, but he was willing to listen to the boys’ plight. “Where is he now?”

“He’s back at the house. We were going to steal some ink to dye his hair, but then the soldiers came.” Ace was hastily explaining in a harsh whisper, his words running together.

“His hair—?”

Luffy finally managed to pull Ace’s hand away. “You gotta help us, I don’t want Sabo to get taken away!” Luffy insisted, sucking in his lip as he pouted pitifully.

Zoro’s brow furrowed as he briefly considered his options. How could he be expected to uphold the law of the kingdom if he went against orders on his first assignment? If he got caught, he’d lose the trust and the modicum of respect he held. However, he was also aware that the veiled boy would instantly be considered suspicious. Only Zoro would believe that these three weren’t a threat to the royal family, and even he couldn’t be completely sure of that. They _had_ snuck into the palace with alarming ease.

“I don’t—”

“You owe us one.” Ace hadn’t planned to pull the payback card, but he was desperate. “We snuck inside the castle, risked our _lives_ , to get you your stupid crown back. You’ve gotta help us.”

Zoro chewed his lip a moment as he thought about what to do. “You and Luffy stand outside your house, hands on your head. Leave your door open, and make sure Sabo stays hidden. I’ll come back for him later.” He nodded his head, satisfied with his plan, incomplete as it was.

“Wasn’t the reason you first got caught by us cause you got lost?” Luffy helpfully piped, “We watched you go past our window three times before we went to check you out that night. It was suuuper funny!” Luffy’s mouth split into a wide grin as he laughed at the memory. The green haired guy sure was an interesting break in their everyday lives.

Zoro looked as if he’d just been scalded. His face and ears turned bright red, which Ace couldn’t help but chuckle at.

“It’s okay, Luffy, we’ll find him and bring him back to our place so he won’t be left to run in circles forever,” Ace assured.

“Roronoa! What are you doing? How’d you get so far from your route?”

The three boys just about jumped out of their skin at the sudden voice behind them. Damn, just when they’d thought they were being so sneaky.

Zoro managed to keep a cool head as he turned around to face his sword master. He saluted, “Sir, I found these two walking in the alley. I don’t believe they’re suspicious; they’re just trying to get home. Shall I escort them?”

“Hmm...” Mihawk’s golden eyes slowly scanned over the scene. The two boys were young, scruffy looking, and thin like they rarely had enough to fill their stomachs. His eyes slowly swiveled back to Zoro, who was patiently awaiting his next order.

“That still doesn’t explain why you’re so far off your route, but yes. Ensure they get back home safely. I expect a full report when we get back to the palace.” With that, Mihawk rode off, continuing to oversee the soldiers in their search.

Zoro gave a sigh of relief, his chest visibly deflating. “Alright, walk ahead of me, hands on your head. Don’t say a word to me except to direct me to your home, alright? We don’t need to draw any unnecessary attention.””

“Geez, bossy.” Luffy grumbled distastefully, but did as he was told. Ace followed shortly after, pulling an attitude like he couldn’t have cared less that he was being led through the streets like a criminal. He stared straight ahead with a harsh glare, feeling the eyes of everyone around them on him and his brother.

Zoro noticed it too, the way the citizens were looking at Ace and Luffy as if they weren’t surprised to see them being followed by an armed escort, even if the young knight was only thirteen. Zoro managed to catch a few hushed phrases as they walked.

“—no surprise—”

“—always cause trouble—”

“—can’t believe they’d do this—”

“—reckless monsters—”

Zoro brought his focus back to the brothers, who didn’t even turn their heads to acknowledge the harsh speculations. “You guys sure seem popular around here.” Zoro remarked just under his breath, but loud enough for Luffy and Ace to hear.

Ace looked over his shoulder through the hole his arm made, smirking at Zoro joylessly. “Well, when people decide that you’re trash before you’ve said your first word or taken your first steps they have a hard time letting that go.” Ace had expected Zoro to drop the subject after his snide remark, but he was surprised to see a look of empathy flash in his eyes. Ace’s smirk dropped and he faced forward. “You can keep your pity, we don’t need it.”

“Pity is for the weak and the pathetic, the gutless. You guys are none of those things, I wouldn’t waste it on you.” It was high praise for someone so high up the caste ladder to say such things to someone on the bottom rung. Ace and Luffy shared a look before turning to look back at Zoro.

“You...really aren’t like most people from the palace.” All he got was a shrug in response. It was strange to Ace how someone like Zoro could speak to them as if he felt they were equals. He wasn’t used to anyone outside his family treating him with anything other than animosity or disinterest.

“We’re here. Second from the end on the left,” Ace directed. There were several other soldiers at the other end of the street, making their way house by house towards the brothers’ home. “You can head inside, it should be open.”

“I’ll be back in a moment.” Zoro let himself in, searching the home. “Sabo?” He startled backwards when he heard a knock beneath the floorboards.

One of the floorboards lifted up and Sabo peeked out. “Zoro? What’re you— I thought you were the Sanji’s right hand, what’re you doing with the knights?”

“Training. What’re you doing under the floor?” Zoro crouched down in front of Sabo so they could talk more directly.

“What do you think?” Sabo snapped. As if he’d be under the floor for any reason other than desperately trying to hide.

Zoro felt stupid for even posing the question, but he still didn’t appreciate Sabo’s snippy tone. “Your brothers asked me to help you.”

“Then Ace and Luffy are alright... Did they get the ink?”

Zoro shook his head, “They couldn’t get it. Plus, everyone will be confined to their homes until the people responsible for the threat have been dealt with. They won’t be able to get it for you anytime soon.”

“Shit,” Sabo cursed, eyes darting as he thought, “would you be able to—”

Ace kicked against the wall, warning the boys inside that soldiers were on their way. Sabo quickly submerged again, setting the floorboard back in place.

“I’ll bring you dye as soon as I can.” Zoro murmured quietly before going back to search the rest tiny house, already knowing he'd find nothing else. One of the soldiers stopped by the door, peeking in.

“Everything in order here?”

“Yes, I just finished searching. No one else is here.” Zoro reported before heading towards the door. He didn’t spare Ace or Luffy a glance as he continued on with the soldiers. He’d be back later, but he still had a job to do, after all.


	6. Are We Friends?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. A year to date with the chapter update. 
> 
> I just want to say thank you guys so SO much for sticking with me and the story despite the irregular updates. My computer died last summer which has made updating difficult so I'll be writing on my phone for a while. Apologies for any typos I did my best :'D

It was several hours after the search began that Zoro heard the echo of distant horns, summoning the troops back to the palace. That could've only meant one thing: the threat had been detained. Zoro made sure to keep his eyes on any fellow soldier he could see to ensure he made it back to the palace with the rest of the troops, lest he be left to wander helplessly through the city for hours, at best.

When the knights and the soldiers arrived at the palace square, they saw that two men were already stood up by the executioner’s block, arms and legs bound. The king was up in the balcony, face heavy with the seriousness of the situation. These two men had claimed they were merely messengers from a neighboring kingdom, but the king had yet to see a messenger that moved under cover of darkness and kept several blades and a well of poison on their belt.

“We swear,” one of the men cried out while his companion kept his head hung low, “we are simply here to deliver a message to your royal highness from our king, the glorious leader of Dressrosa!”

“Then speak your message,” the king demanded, “and I will grant you the mercy of a swift death.”

Zoro started to push his way up the the front, curious to see what was going on when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, surprised to see that Mihawk was the one holding him back.

“You’ll see your fair share of bloodshed, Roronoa, but today…” Mihawk paused, as if he himself was unsure as to why he wanted to protect Zoro from seeing the inevitable execution of these men. He wanted the boy to grow up to be strong in body and in will, but he didn't want him to grow indifferent to the sight of death. He wanted him to understand that every time you took a life you were impacting someone, somewhere, possibly destroying their entire world with one swing of a sword.

“But what?” Zoro questioned, forgetting to tack on a ‘sir’ at the end, though Mihawk didn't seem to notice. Before the knight could respond, the captive began to speak again.

“We were sent here to give you this message: Return our prince, or we’ll take yours.” Knowing that his life was over, the captive cocked a smirk, a drip of fresh blood spilling from the split in his lip. “Our king felt it was a fair trade.”

The crowd all turned to look at the king, awaiting his response. They could practically see him tremble with rage. “Summon the executioner. For your insolence, we will be sending your head back home with your friend here with a message of our own: I know nothing of the missing prince. Enter my walls again, and it’s war.”

The prisoners were led off the execution platform and were taken to the cells where they’d be held until the executioner had finished sharpening his axe. Mihawk looked down at Zoro, sighing quietly with a sense of relief he hadn't expected to feel.

“Go check on the prince, I'm sure he'd like to know you’re alright.” Mihawk mentally kicked himself for sounding so soft around the kid. Better toughen that sentiment up a bit. “Make sure he isn't going hysterical without his pet around.” Judging by the face Zoro pulled it had maybe been a bad call to refer to the boy as Sanji’s pet. Oh well, no taking it back now. With a salute and a quiet ‘yes, sir’ Zoro headed off to check on the prince.

Sanji was already back in his bedroom by the time Zoro arrived. There were still guards at the doors as a precaution, especially after the captive’s uproarious announcement, but they let Zoro enter the room without question.

The second Zoro walked through the doors Sanji was off his bed and barreling towards his friend, clamping his arms around him. “Thank the gods you’re safe.” Zoro could feel that Sanji was still vaguely trembling.

“It was just a search and patrol sort of assignment. Nothing heavy on the action, I promise.” Speaking of promises, he still had to get that ink well out to the boys. With this new threat rearing its ugly head, it might be more difficult to get to the lower city undetected than Zoro had originally thought. It wasn't like he could wear a veil out and about after everything that had happened.

Sanji huffed and pulled away, not happy with Zoro’s response, but for the life of him Zoro had no idea what the issue was this time. Although, he was sure Sanji would waste little time in explaining.

“Well? Weren't you worried about me? These men did come here to kill me after all.” Sanji huffed again and turned to go flop down on his bed. “I guess it’d be a relief for you if I was just murdered. Then you wouldn't have to deal with—” Sanji was interrupted by a whap upside the head. When he turned to yell at Zoro, he saw a look of fury, the likes of which Sanji had never seen before, giving him pause.

“Listen here, you may be one hell of an ungrateful ass, and you may drive me up the wall more often than not, but you are still the only person in my life who gives a damn about me. You may be my master, and you may treat me like shit sometimes, but you are also my friend. So yes, you occasionally make my life a living hell, but I would never want to see you dead. Are we clear?”

Sanji nodded dumbly, unable to say anything in that moment.

“Good. Now, do you need anything: a snack, something to drink?”

Sanji shook his head. “You’re free to go,” he mumbled in a quiet deadpan.

Zoro paused, having expected a bit more retaliation. Or at least a request for him to hang around a bit longer. “Well, alright then. Uh, I'm… going to go check back in with my sword master.” He waited a moment more, not knowing if he should be appreciative or worried by his dismissal. “...Are you sure you don't need anything?”

“Yes, I'm sure. Though if you could send for my tutor I would like to continue my lessons.” Sanji sat back down at his desk, refusing to look in Zoro’s direction. He cracked open a book and flipped the top on his inkwell open.

Zoro stared at the ink a moment, a plan slowly coming together in his mind, “Will you be needing more ink?”

The prince sighed and rolled his eyes. “First you complain about me being a slave driver, and now you can't seem to function without me giving you a task. Yes, fine, go down to the shops and get me more ink once you've sent for my tutor.” He waved his servant off, still refusing to look at him.

Nodding and backing out of Sanji’s room, Zoro hurried to find Robin before heading out of the castle and down to the marketplace. Unbeknownst to him, Sanji had been watching him leave through the gates from behind a curtain. A moment later there came a knock at the door.

“Come in.” Sanji kept his eyes trained outside until Zoro disappeared from sight. He could hear Robin enter and take a seat, but he still couldn't tear his eyes from the window.

“The events of today must be weighing heavily on you. Are you alright, Your Highness?” Robin questioned gently, as she listened to the prince heave a sigh for the fifth time since she’d entered the room.

“I'm a prince. I can't let threats like this to get to me.” Sanji hardened himself, folding his arms and finally turning away from the window. “Besides, there are many people in this palace who are here to keep me safe.”

“Yes, that is true,” Robin conceded. “Yet even the mightiest of men can feel fear sometimes. It doesn't make you weak. The important thing is knowing how to take control of that fear, and to not let it paralyze you. Always remember you have your men at arms to defend you,” she paused, “Zoro as well. He will always be there for you.” The small smile that normally graced her face fell when she saw how Sanji stiffened at that. Had she hit a sore spot?

“I don't need that grass-headed idiot.” Sanji huffed, hand going to his bangs and roughly raking through them. He was still terrible at hiding his true feelings, especially when it came to Zoro. “Besides, he left my side today when I needed him most.” Sanji’s angry frown turned to one of hurt. “How could he just leave me like that?”

Robin was unsure how to continue, she needed to tread lightly and not overstep her boundaries. “Was this during the search for the spies?”

Sanji nodded, eyes downcast, “And just now, also… I know I sent him away this time, but he didn't even protest. Sometimes I feel he just wants to get away from me. I feel like he may be coming to… hate me...”

Not wanting to say anything to further upset the boy, Robin took a moment to carefully choose her words. “It can be a little difficult sometimes to guess what he may be thinking, but I do know that he would never be purposefully dishonest with you. He is loyal to you and has stuck by you since you two were small, but as you grow older both of you will have new responsibilities and commitments. Your lives may be changing, but that doesn't mean your feelings have. A part of growing up is learning to grow together with the people you care about.”

She watched as Sanji seemed to mull this over, forehead scrunched as he chewed his lip. “I guess so… Still, I don't want to grow up. I want to stay as we are.”

“Well, a part of being young is also completing your lessons.” Robin smiled once more before opening her book. “Shall we?”

The young prince groaned dramatically before draping himself across his desk. “Maybe I do wanna grow up,” he mumbled, drawing a genuine laugh from his teacher.

\--

The one area of town Zoro had managed to figure out how to navigate was the market. Granted, it was right outside the palace gates, but Zoro knew that as long as he could see the gates he’d be able to find his way back within a reasonable time frame. However, this time he wasn’t just popping out for a quick errand for Sanji, he’d have to make his way to the lower city. He was fairly confident in himself that he could make it there and back in time to avoid suspicion. Plus, after a few years of knowing the boy, the guards had mostly stopped being surprised to find him in places he wasn’t supposed to be. As he walked, Zoro briefly flashed back to a moment about five years ago when he’d brought this anomaly to Sanji’s attention. He’d just gotten lost at the market and had been escorted back to Sanji by a guard on patrol.

_‘You get away with it ‘cause you’re always gettin’ lost, dummy! Stay by me more, okay? I don't wanna lose my only friend cause he got lost forever.’_

Zoro gave a small smile at the memory. In his own roundabout way, Sanji really did care about him. He had to remember that. Clutching the small box of ink bottles, he turned and began to head into the city. Normally, he'd worry about Sanji’s reaction to him being gone so long, but he figured with the way Sanji had been acting that maybe he could get away with it.

Or maybe not. The sun was starting to set by the time Zoro made it to the brothers’ neighborhood. After knocking on several wrong doors he finally found them.

“I thought you’d forgot.” Ace blatantly announced upon seeing the young guard. “Sabo said you’d be right back.”

Zoro frowned a bit. “I got here as fast as I could. I'm risking my head on the block for you guys.”

Ace sheepishly backed down, his tongue tracing over his inner cheek. “Come in.” He opened the door a little wider for Zoro to enter.

“I can't stay, I need to head back, but…” Zoro pulled out one of the four bottles from the box amd handed it to Ace. “This is for Sabo, I have to. ring the rest back to Sa- the Prince. Give him my regards.” Zoro turned to leave when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“I’ll walk you back. I know the fastest route there, it’s the least I can do.” Ace made a face that indicated he wouldn't take no for an answer.

Zoro quirked an eyebrow. “It’s a long walk, a couple hours at least.” His brow furrowed again when Ace barked a laugh.

“It takes half an hour tops to get back to the palace. Man, I'm even more amazed you managed to find where we live. What’d you do, spiral through the whole city to get here?”

Zoro turned a faint shade of red, which only made Ace chuckle more. He grumbled as he turned to leave. “C’mon, it’s getting dark.”

“Hey, Zoro,” Zoro paused and looked back over his shoulder, “palace is that way.”

Ace kept to his word and got Zoro back to the palace in record time, the two of them managing to keep a conversation for most of the walk. It had been a while since Zoro had laughed that much, and Ace could've said the same. As they finally reached the now empty marketplace, they paused.

“So, uh, thanks for getting me home.” Zoro awkwardly tapped his fingers on the hilt of his sword, unsure how to say goodbye.

“Y-Yeah, no problem.” Another pause. “Hey, so… I know it goes against what is “socially appropriate” and all that crap, but… we should be friends... or whatever.” Ace reached up to awkwardly scratch at his hair. It’d been a long time since he had last tried to make friends. “Also my little brother talks about you a lot so I think he'd like to be friends too.”

Zoro cocked a small half smile. “Yeah, that sounds good.” He waved as he hurried off towards the gates. “Stay out of trouble,” he called back.

“Don't count on it!” Ace smiled as Zoro ran off. He already knew he probably wouldn't get to see Zoro all that often, but just knowing that he had a friend out there who was worlds away, but so much like himself… It was comforting to the boy.

\--

“Six. Hours. How did you get lost for six whole hours?!” Sanji couldn't even be mad. If anything he was worried that his friend’s sense of direction had somehow gotten worse, or that there may actually be dirt instead of a brain under that lawn on his head. “Did something happen? Are you alright?” This was not the reaction that Zoro had been expecting, and his face showed it. “Well? Don't just gawk at me, say something!”

Zoro snapped his mouth shut and cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah, I'm fine. I… may have gotten a little turned around in the market…”

“You got turned arou– The palace gates are right there! How could you not notice when you weren't heading towards them to get back?”

“I thought I was…”

Sanji sighed, seemingly buying his excuse. “And you say I give you headaches. You even missed the execution today. I really wanted you there with me for that.”

Zoro bowed his head, “I’m sorry, Sanji.”

The prince heaved another huge sigh. “Well, you're back safe so that's all that matters. Come, it's time for you to draw my bath. You'll be taking one as well. I can't imagine how bad you must smell after sweating under that armor all day.”

Zoro would've protested, but he had caught a whiff of himself earlier and had to silently agree. Besides, after everything that had happened that day a nice soak in the bath would be absolute heaven.

\--

“Ace! You’re back!” Luffy bounded over to welcome his brother back with a hug, but got a hand to the face instead. “Did you bring me something to eat?”

“It’s too hot for hugs, Luffy, and no not this time. It's too risky to steal anything right now.” Ace had just returned home, ink bottle safely packed away in the pouch on his belt. He could hear gentle snoring coming from under the floorboards and snorted a laugh. He thumped twice on the floor. “Sabo, wake up. Zoro came through.”

The floor lifted and Sabo emerged, stretching his aching limbs and yawning widely. “What time is it?” He asked groggily as he looked around.

“Well after dark. C’mon, let's see if this works.” Ace went over to the table and placed the ink down next to the comb and shallow dish they’d prepared.

Sabo sat in the chair, yawning again. “You know, I'm sort of surprised he actually got us ink.”

Luffy tilted his head, not understanding. “How come? Zoro seems really nice!”

“He’s got a very important job in the palace. Helping us, helping me, is stupidly dangerous for him. More so than I think even he understands. There's nothing wrong with being generous to someone who’s struggling to eat while you have more food than you could ever need, but this is different.” Sabo removed his veil, revealing the pale blonde curls that were matted to his head. He ran a hand through, fluffing them up a bit. He started to run the comb through the tangles as Ace prepared the ink. “Anyone who helps me is putting themselves in danger, including you guys.”

“By the gods, you're dramatic as ever. You’re our brother and that's that. We’re gonna help you no matter what.” Ace scolded, “So quit it with that shit.”

Luffy threw in his own enthusiastic affirmation. “Yeah! You're one of us now! So don't worry about it!”

“Exactly, now hold still so I don't get ink everywhere.”

Sabo smiled, a hint of sadness in his eyes that neither brother could see from the way he was sitting. “Thanks, you guys.” He watched Ace dip the comb in ink before harshly running it through his hair. “Ow! Watch it, asshole!” He felt a couple cold drops fall onto his neck and trickle down.

“Gah! I told you to hold still, idiot!”

“I would be if you weren't pulling out my hair, shithead!”

Luffy laughed and clapped as his brothers got into it again. He knew it was their way of saying they loved each other, and it was always endlessly entertaining to watch. When things had calmed down and the boys had sat in silence for a few moments, Luffy posed a question he'd been mulling over. “So is Zoro gonna be our friend now?”

Ace looked back at Luffy, unsure how to answer. He turned back to Sabo’s hair and thought on it for a moment. “I don't know if it's possible. Sabo was right about one thing: we come from completely different worlds. I don't even know how to reach him, and there's no way in hell he’s gonna be able to find our place without taking hours to do so, again. If he can even escape his guardly duties or whatever.”

The youngest boy folded his arms and legs, face screwed up in concentration, trying to physically force himself to think even harder. Then, suddenly, his eyes lit up in an ‘a-ha!’ moment. “We’ll sneak in again!”

“That’s even more risky! We’re lucky we got away the first time! Plus, I think Zoro might still have our grapple…” Ace countered, remembering that they should probably get that back.

Luffy fell to the floor with the effort of trying to think of a good plan. “Nnnnnn~” he groaned, “this would be so much easier if we just lived in the palace~!”

It was Sabo’s turn for an a-ha moment. “Well, we can't all live there, but…” He pulled away to turn to look at Ace. “You could join the army. You're old enough for an apprenticeship and basic training.”

Ace guffawed, “I'll have to join anyway in four years. Why bother now? That's four more years of dealing with all the ‘yes sir’ ‘no sir’ ‘can I wipe your ass sir’ crap.”

Sabo shrugged, turning back around. “Just an idea, and maybe the safest one. Plus, you’d be getting paid to be there. All soldiers get free food and a place to sleep and monthly pay sent to their families.”

“We get money if Ace is in the army?” Luffy shot up, grabbing Ace by the shoulders. “Do it, Ace! We would be able to eat more! Pleeeeeease, please, please, pleeeeeeease?”

It certainly gave Ace food for thought. He didn't like the idea, but it did have its perks. “I… I guess I'll think about it.”


End file.
